Tuesday, March 17, 2009

How Did He Drive Them Out, Anyway?

On this day I'm reminded of something our daughter Teresa said around this time two years ago, when Jocelyn and I were talking about St. Patrick and the legend that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland.

To which Teresa (then four years old) asked, "How did he drive them? In a car?"

I don't even remember how we answered her, but it did give us a big laugh.

Imagine St. Patrick barreling through a narrow road in the Irish countryside — on the left side, of course — in a DeLorean, fighting off a car full of snakes with his crosier whilst somehow still managing to steer.

How's that for a visual?

6 comments:

The Dutchman said...

Kind of like that National Lampoon illustration in a phony U.S. history text book of Jesuits using steam-powered converters on the Indians to turn them Catholic.

Rick said...

If you collect all these anecdotes about kids and compile them, they might end up as a best seller someday.

Anonymous said...

That is so funny. It reminds me of this but is in some ways funnier because it was a real child asking.

Soutenus said...

My students asked me the very same question!

You know, in St Croix there are NO snakes. Since St Patrick did not leave written instructions they brought in the natural enemy of snakes, the mongoose.
Paradise, right?
Wrong!
The island is over run with an overpopulation of mongeese (mongooses?)

Anyway, it got me to thinking. Wouldn't it make sense to release neutered mongeese in a snake ridden area????

There is a great business idea somewhere in that rambling.

Lovin' your blog!

Peggy

sunnyday said...

Haha!! Children :-)

This reminds me of that other anecdote you related here when one of your daughters asked some question (maybe about the Faith too), to which you didn't know the answer. Her wry reply was "I thought you were smart."

John Jansen said...

Dutch--

Indeed.

Rick--

Not a bad idea...

Rae--

What a great picture!

Peggy--

You might be onto somehting with that mongoose idea.

Sunnyday--

You have a great memory. That was also Teresa, when she asked me why we use the right hand (and not the left) to make the Sign of the Cross.